Hassan (Karnataka): A man got his lookalike killed in a staged accident by conspiring with his wife and a truck driver to claim insurance money in the Gandasi area of Hassan district in Karnataka, with police nabbing two of the accused in the case so far.
The crime whose modus operandi reads like a Bollywood script saw the main accused hatching a plan to 'die' and allow his wife to claim the insurance money.
On August 13, at around 3.15 AM, a man was found dead after a car collided with a truck near the Gollarahosalli Gate area here. Thinking it was a regular accident case, the police seized both vehicles and sent the body to the mortuary for post-mortem examination.
A woman named Shilpa Rani came to the police station and identified the body to be that of her husband, Munishwami Gowda. The police also checked the Aadhaar card and driving licence as provided by Shilpa Rani and permitted the body to be buried at Chikkakoliga village.
"Shilpa Rani identified the body and said that the deceased was her husband. We then allowed his last rites to be performed," District Superintendent of Police Mohammad Sujeetha said.
Police, however, grew suspicious and launched an investigation after discovering ligature marks on the victim's neck. The probe revealed that Munishwami, deeply in debt from his business ventures, had concocted a scheme to collect a hefty insurance payout.
He and his wife found a lookalike and befriended him, orchestrating a plan to stage Munishwami's death. During the intervening night of August 12 and 13, Munishwami invited the lookalike to Sidlaghatta and had a truck driver follow them. When they stopped near Gollarahosalli Gate due to a supposed flat tyre, Munishwami asked the lookalike to assist with changing the wheel.
As the truck approached, Munishwami strangled the lookalike with a rope and pushed him under the vehicle, which ran him over. The truck then crashed into the car to make it appear like an accident, and Munishwami fled the scene, according to Police Superintendent Mohammed Sujeetha.
"We dug deep to find out that it was a planned and cold-blooded murder and not an accident. We have detained Munishwamy Gowda and the lorry driver, Devendra Naik and are looking for Shilpa Rani who is absconding. We will find her soon," the SP said.
Read More:
